This story is a sequel to Cross the Rubicon: Choices

From the beginning, Spike was there, watching, listening...knowing things that he could tell no one.

He knew something bad had happened. He knew something was off about Sunset Shimmer. He knew something was hurting Twilight. But no matter how much he barked or howled, he could never explain what he knew to anyone--they would never understand him.

It didn't mean he wouldn't try.

He would give everything he had to protect his human.

A companion piece to my main story, Cross The Rubicon: Choices , from the perspective of Spike the dog.

Twilight Sparkle had assumed the glamour was all there was to her cousin...but somewhere along the line she--and so many others--forgot that a glamour was also another word for façade, and under that façade was a real person.

It was something that, for the longest time, even Glamour herself had forgotten, too busy being everything her parents expected...

But sometimes all it takes is just one person to really look beyond the mask someone wears and find the heart and soul of who they are, to help them see the truth of themselves and cope with what that uncovers. Glamour Shot considered herself beyond lucky to have that one person in her life, because it had opened her eyes to things she would never have come know and treasure otherwise... and in the end, she didn't care what she had to do, she would, if it meant they could be together.

A sidestory set in the universe of Cross The Rubicon, courtesy of my lovely and amazing editor/writing partner--she did such an amazing job on this one! This story delves into the nature of a side character introduced in one of the winter break chapters: Twilight Sparkle's cousin, Glamour Shot. Rubicon is not required, but highly recommended since the character was really meant for that story.

Every character has a past, and sometimes, the past is a complicated, messy thing, full of good and bad, of defining moments, of broken relationships, of events that make a person think back and laugh...or even cry. Who we are now is because of all the little moments that have come before, the memories that shaped us.

So what shaped Sunset Shimmer? Who was she before?

More than that, what shaped her relationship with Princess Celestia? What made it fail?

Was it all Sunset's fault? Or was the Princess responsible? Or was the truth something far more complex than simple blame?

Maybe a trip down Memory Lane will have the answers...

Or maybe it will just raise more questions...

Yet another story that takes place in the same universe as my primary story "Cross the Rubicon", this is merely the beginning to what will become a sort of companion piece to a sidestory called "Supernova" that is in the works.

Hope you all enjoy! (Be careful what you ask for, dearest readers, because I may chose to deliver...just not in the way you expect! BRUHAHAHAHA.)

Hearth's Warming. A time to celebrate love. Family. Friendship. To come together and reaffirm bonds.

But for the mare at the top, an immortal whose only living family has been sealed within the moon for over nine and a half centuries, who commands too much awe and respect to have many, if any, true friends...its long been a reminder of what she's lost.

This year though, things have changed. A bright eyed little filly, an excuse to avoid the overdone public productions, and Princess Celestia finds herself with a holiday whose events bring her joy, a joy she would dearly love to share with her sister.

Unable to talk to her directly, Celestia falls back on something she's good at:

Writing a letter.

A Holiday Sidestory in the same universe as my main story, Cross the Rubicon...and all my stories, really, this is a Christmas gift for my readers who are a bunch of amazing people!

Sunset Shimmer isn't a normal girl. She can levitate objects with her mind, shoot hot energy from her palms, and when she's scared, she can disappear and reappear somewhere else entirely.

Her parents know. Her siblings know. What they don't know is how different Sunset really is.

When nightmarish creatures attack and kidnap her sister, Sunset ventures into the unknown and discovers a world teetering on the edge of total darkness.

What begins as a rescue mission turns into a struggle to save a kingdom, as Sunset learns just who and what she is, and the weight that comes with it.

In the space between worlds, time, space, gravity...these things have no meaning. They don't exist.

But just because all of the things mortals understand as part of existence are not part of that space does not make it a void, an empty nothing of darkness and cold. Darkness and cold, after all...are something. ...and Void implies an opposition to existence itself. The In-Between is not the violent opposite of existence, not the anti-matter to the matter of reality. It is the potential of all things yet unrealized, all of the "might have beens" and "could be's" and possible "nows" all at once, in a glorious, infinite singularity that curls around an equally infinite multitude of realities...

It's also not empty...

A sidestory, of sorts, in the same universe as Cross the Rubicon and my other stories.

When Princess Celestia had not only denied her what she deserved, but cast her out as well, Sunset Shimmer would not let that deter her. She would have what she so desperately sought, even of she had to risk it all to get it. That’s why, armed with only a set of saddlebags full to bursting and the vague, unreliable knowledge on the magical mirror that had shown the unicorn her destiny, she had traveled to the realm beyond its surface, hoping to gain something that would prove the Princess wrong.

But what she found there was nothing short of a nightmare, a hellish realm beyond most ponies ability to imagine....

For those that have read it, this is technically a one-shot that takes place in the same continuity as my main story Cross the Rubicon, though this takes place some years before that...

Originally written in response to a monthly writing prompt on Krickis’ Discord server, I wasn't satisfied with a paltry 1000 words that only scratched the surface of the idea. So I ended up taking it and expanding it. It's a tad unnerving, given that the original prompt was inspired by Halloween month, but its less Modern horror, more dread and suspense.

When Sonata and Aria return to school after disappearing for several weeks, Sunset begins to find out the reason the girls turned into such evil beings.

Credit for artwork goes to Jack-a-Lynn on DeviantArt.

Luna and Sunset talk on the roof of Canterlot High School.

Sunset has no desire to kill herself; what concerns Luna is that that isn't the same as wanting to be alive. In fact, it's not even close.

Note about the content:
The "Suicide / Self Harm" tag is only for stories that actually contain those things. There's no warning tag (or any kind of tag) for stories that contain discussion of those things, or related things, without actually featuring them. So I'm warning you here.

This is about a specific kind of deep depression: the kind where you don't particularly want to live. At one point Sunset talks about possible ways she could die, and how none of them would bother her. So if you're not up for reading things suicide related and suicide adjacent, steer clear.

Now that I've spoiled almost every aspect of the story, let me ruin the rest. I didn't tag this as "Sad" because I don't think it's sad. It's definitely heavy, but that's not the same thing.

You might disagree about whether it's sad, though, so take that into account when deciding whether or not you want to read it. If you do read, and you think it should be tagged as "Sad", please tell me in the comments. (The last thing I want to do is bring people down when they're not prepared for it.)

Takes place during the Season 5 Finale. (And hints of EqG: Friendship Games)

Sunset Shimmer is out of space in her journal for communicating with Princess Twilight. On a whim, she decides to return to her homeland for a replacement. Unfortunately for Sunset, a pony named Starlight Glimmer was busy enacting revenge, catching Sunset in the crossfire and placing her in a different timeline than she expected. With no Elements of Harmony, no Princess Twilight, and no clue, Sunset must reunite the main six, save the timeline, and find a way home... eventually.

Check out the trailer!~